1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stamp device employing an elongated heat sensitive stencil paper capable of being perforated by heat and, more particularly, to a compact portable stamp device which records a stamp image on a medium with an ink through the elongated heat sensitive stencil paper previously perforated by heat using a thermal head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is known a compact portable stamp device employing a stencil paper having a perforation pattern formed of characters, figures, and/or symbols that are drawn using a pencil or a ball-point pen. Such a stamp device, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,053 (Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 54-9523), for example, includes a table and an inking unit. In this stamp device, the inking unit is mounted to reciprocate relative to the table and the stencil paper is mounted on the inking unit. When the inking unit is positioned at one end of a reciprocating stroke, mimeograph printing is carried out, and when the inking unit is positioned at the other end of the surface, the stamp device is accommodated in the table.
However, in the stamp device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,053, when exchanging the stencil paper, the operator's hands or clothes are often stained by the ink. Further, the ink cannot be replaced by another ink having a different color.
Also known is a heat sensitive stencil paper which can be perforated by infrared irradiation or heat of a thermal head to form a pattern of characters or the like. In particular, a typical example of such a heat sensitive stencil paper is formed by bonding a thermoplastic film and a porous thin paper to each other with use of an adhesive. A compact portable stamp device employing such a heat sensitive stencil paper is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 63-11855, for example. In this stamp device, a mimeograph printing plate is detachably attached to a base including a grip portion, a cushion layer, and a cohesive layer. The mimeograph printing plate has a three-layer structure consisting of a perforated stencil paper, a frame, and a cover sheet having an ink impermeability. Ink is applied or placed in a space between the stencil paper and the cover sheet by the frame. In this stamp device, mimeograph printing can be effected by attaching the mimeograph printing plate having a perforated pattern of desired characters, figures, and/or symbols to the base and pressing the mimeograph printing plate against a printing paper.
In the stamp device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 63-11855, the operator's hands or clothes are less likely to be stained with ink as compared with the former prior art. However, the ink must be manually applied potentially causing the ink layer thickness to be nonuniform. As a result, nonuniformity of print occurs.